12 Really Fascinating Pop Culture Facts That Sound Like Internet Rumors But Are Actually True

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1. I deliberation we tin each hold that Mean Girls is the defining teen drama of the '00s. However, it didn't commencement retired arsenic the PG-13 movie we cognize today. Early cuts of the movie were person to an R rating, with much explicit connection and sharper, much adult-oriented jokes. Writer and prima Tina Fey and manager Mark Waters person some said the archetypal mentation leaned much heavy into the benignant of wit Fey was known for from her enactment connected SNL.

Four women walking successful  a mall; 3  wearing pinkish  and casual skirts, portion    1  has a Starbucks cup. Retro 2000s manner  with a stylish, coordinated theme

Paramount / courtesy Everett Collection

However, the workplace wanted the movie to scope a broader teen audience, which meant aiming for a PG-13 standing alternatively of R. To marque that happen, respective lines were rewritten oregon cut, particularly jokes that were considered excessively intersexual oregon explicit, for example, the enactment was originally, "Amber D'Alessio gave a blowjob to a blistery dog" earlier it was changed to "made retired with a blistery dog." Some scenes were besides softened to code down the wide borderline of the film. Despite those changes, the last mentation struck a equilibrium betwixt edgy and "teen movie."

Four women successful  festive reddish  and achromatic  outfits with Santa hats execute  connected  stage, smiling and posing against a snowy backdrop

©Paramount/Courtesy Everett Collection

2. The word "Disney Vault" is really a batch older than you mightiness think. It was utilized to notation to movies that were taken retired of "the vault" and re-released into theaters aft their archetypal tally (this was mode earlier location videos existed).

A inactive  representation  from Disney features a Mickey Mouse-shaped vault doorway  with Walt Disney's signature successful  the center, suggestive of a treasure oregon  unafraid  retention  theme

Disney

The archetypal movie to beryllium re-released was Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs successful 1944, during WWII. The workplace was benignant of forced to bash truthful arsenic they were cash-strapped astatine the clip and were producing propaganda films for the authorities that weren't truly made for profit. The occurrence of the Snow White re-release sparked Disney's contented of re-releasing its films successful theaters each 7–10 years. By the '80s and '90s, the word became a selling instrumentality to assistance merchantability VHS releases (and aboriginal DVDs and Blu-rays successful the '00s).

Snow White holds a broom and a vertebrate  successful  beforehand   of a cottage successful  the classical  animated movie  "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs"

Disney

3. George Atkinson opened the first video rental store successful the satellite successful LA successful 1977. The thought came to him aft helium saw an advertisement for a institution that was selling 20th Century Fox movies connected VHS and Betamax astatine $50 each. At the time, owning a VCR was inactive rare, and tapes were expensive, truthful helium realized radical would beryllium consenting to wage to rent videos. Atkinson knew this due to the fact that helium was already moving a concern renting Super 8 movies and projectors for parties. He proceeded to bargain 1 transcript connected some VHS and Betamax of each 50 titles disposable and began taking ads retired for his caller rental business.

Blue VHS portion    with a statement   that reads "Please retrieve  to rewind!" connected  achromatic  background

Michael Burrell / Getty Images/iStockphoto

Within a year, helium had turned his rental concern into a franchise called Video Station, and successful the process, fundamentally invented the rental exemplary that would soon go the norm. However, astatine first, movie studios threatened to writer him, but Atkinson realized helium hadn't breached immoderate copyright laws by renting retired films helium owned. As request grew, his concern proved that radical were anxious to ticker movies astatine location without buying them outright. This occurrence helped propulsion studios to clasp the rental market, which rapidly became a large gross watercourse successful the '80s and '90s.

Blockbuster store   exterior astatine  nighttime  with illuminated sign, showcasing nostalgia for the video rental chain

David Friedman / Getty Images

4. The VHS merchandise of Top Gun successful 1987 marked an important displacement successful however Hollywood approached the location video market. Before this period, astir VHS tapes were priced precise precocious (usually astir a $100) and aimed chiefly astatine video rental stores alternatively than idiosyncratic buyers. Paramount chose to merchandise Top Gun astatine a overmuch little terms constituent of astir $26.95, which was antithetic for a caller blockbuster astatine the time. This pricing strategy was made imaginable done a promotional concern with Pepsi, which helped offset organisation costs. A Diet Pepsi commercialized was adjacent included connected the VHS itself, which was a archetypal for a large workplace release.

Tom Cruise and Kelly McGillis connected  a retro "Top Gun" VHS cover, with pitchy  graphics and bold title

Kelly's Willow Tree/ Paramount / Via ebay.com

The caller strategy proved highly successful, with beardown beforehand orders and accelerated income that helped marque the portion 1 of the bestselling VHS releases of the '80s. The occurrence showed studios that determination was a ample user marketplace for owning films astatine home, not conscionable renting them. It besides helped propulsion the manufacture toward lower-priced "sell-through" VHS releases aimed astatine mundane buyers alternatively of conscionable rental outlets. By the '90s, selling straight to consumers became the standard, which besides made the studios much money.

Person successful  a pilot's azygous   sits successful  a pitchy  cockpit, giving a thumbs up, with an American emblem  backdrop. The helmet reads "Maverick."

Paramount/ Everett Collection

5. Siri was an app that was disposable connected Apple's ain App Store until the institution decided to bargain it successful 2010. The company, which was besides called Siri, was a tiny startup that had developed a dependable adjunct app for the iPhone. Like today, it could reply questions oregon execute tasks utilizing earthy language.

A manus  holds a telephone  displaying the "Hey Siri" screen. The inheritance  shows ample  substance   asking, "What tin  I assistance   you with?"

NurPhoto / NurPhoto via Getty Images

Apple saw the imaginable to integrate this exertion straight into its ecosystem, making the iPhone much idiosyncratic and hands-free. The acquisition reportedly outgo astir $200 million. When Siri was introduced arsenic a built-in diagnostic with the iPhone 4S successful 2011, it became 1 of the phone's main selling points. This was the opening of a caller epoch wherever talking to your devices became normal.

Close-up of a smartphone showing a integer  adjunct  interface responding to the query "What is Siri" with "That's me!"

Oli Scarff / Getty Images

6. "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was almost cut from The Wizard of Oz. I cognize it's hard to judge that anyone would deliberation of cutting 1 of the astir iconic movie songs of each time, but MGM executives considered removing the country due to the fact that they thought it dragged down the film's momentum. They disquieted that the quiescent infinitesimal would dilatory the communicative conscionable arsenic the crippled was picking up speed.

Classic movie  country   of a young miss  successful  braided hairsbreadth  and gingham formal  looking upwards adjacent   haystacks, evoking a vintage movie   setting

Some besides felt the mounting — a elemental barnyard — didn't lucifer the movie's big, colorful spectacle. On apical of that, the opus itself struck them arsenic sad, and they feared audiences wouldn't respond good to thing truthful melancholy, and that they wanted excitement and sparkle. Luckily, for each of us, the executives made the close prime successful the end.

A young miss  successful  a gingham formal  looks up   portion    lasting  adjacent  to a haystack. Chickens and a woody  obstruction   are successful  the background

Courtesy Everett Collection

7. Oscar the Grouch's astir recognizable feature, speech from his garbage can, is his greenish fur, but helium didn't commencement retired that way. When Sesame Street premiered successful 1969, Oscar was really bright orange passim its archetypal season. That archetypal colour wasn't a originative prime truthful overmuch arsenic a applicable one, since aboriginal tv exertion had occupation displaying definite shades similar magenta, which had been considered for Oscar successful aboriginal designs.

A antheral   with facial hairsbreadth  smiles arsenic  helium  opens a trash tin  containing a fuzzy puppet with bushy eyebrows, apt  from a retro TV show

David Attie / Getty Images

By the 2nd season, the quality was redesigned with greenish fur, which became his imperishable look. The amusement adjacent created a playful in-universe explanation, with Oscar explaining helium had turned greenish aft a abrogation to Swamp Mushy Muddy. In aboriginal appearances, Oscar has joked that he's "really" inactive orangish underneath, but that helium is conscionable covered successful grime and slime.

Oscar the Grouch pops retired  of a trash tin  beside a furry reddish  Muppet connected  Sesame Street set

Children's Television Workshop / Getty Images

8. Believe it oregon not, wheeled suitcases are a comparatively caller invention. If you traveled earlier the 1970s, you would person to transportation your suitcase by the handle. That began to alteration successful 1970, erstwhile Bernard D. Sadow patented a suitcase with 4 tiny wheels and a strap for pulling it done airports. His thought came aft struggling with dense luggage during a household trip.

An illustration of a smiling aged  mates  successful  vintage attire, holding suitcases, acceptable   for travel

GraphicaArtis / Getty Images

Although Sadow's plan was astute and innovative, it didn't instantly take off with travelers, partially due to the fact that it was bulky and unfamiliar. The existent breakthrough came successful 1987, erstwhile Robert Plath, a Northwest Airlines pilot, introduced the "Rollaboard," a two-wheeled upright suitcase with a retractable grip (which is what we have, much oregon less, today). Flight crews rapidly adopted it, and passengers soon followed aft seeing however applicable it was. By the '90s, wheeled luggage had go standard, transforming question and making it overmuch easier overall.

Person walking connected  a bid     level    with a suitcase and books, wearing casual attire including a reddish  apical  and jeans

Sean Gallup / Getty Images

9. Madonna, successful her ain words, was fundamentally "begging" ABBA for support to usage their euphony successful "Hung Up." The 2005 opus famously samples ABBA's "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)," but the radical astir ne'er allows their enactment to beryllium sampled; successful fact, they astir ever garbage sampling requests, which made the petition a agelong shot.

Person successful  a stylish pinkish  wrapper  outfit posing confidently against a woody  backdrop

To effort to triumph them over, Madonna wrote a personal, handwritten missive to ABBA's Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus explaining however overmuch she admired their euphony and describing the way arsenic a tribute. She adjacent sent idiosyncratic to Stockholm to present the missive and a demo successful person. That idiosyncratic attack yet worked. Andersson and Ulvaeus granted permission, thing they had done lone a fistful of times, partially due to the fact that they respected Madonna and liked however the opus utilized their music.

A idiosyncratic   poses dramatically implicit    a boombox successful  a dimly lit setting, wearing a stylish outfit with high-heeled shoes

10. Red Lobster's celebrated Cheddar Bay Biscuits didn't beryllium erstwhile the edifice archetypal opened. They were introduced successful 1992 arsenic a elemental snack to service bare guests portion they waited for a table. Also, originally, they weren't adjacent called Cheddar Bay Biscuits; they were simply referred to arsenic "freshly baked, blistery food ail bread." The look was created by Kurtis Hankins, then-head of Red Lobster's culinary improvement team, who wanted to make thing to regenerate the restaurant's modular offering of hush puppies (which were not precise popular).

Four biscuits with a crumbly texture beryllium   connected  a achromatic  napkin, suggesting a freshly baked and appetizing look

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Inspired by Texas toast and French bread, helium decided to make a biscuit that substituted sweetener with ail and food to marque them savory. The biscuits rapidly became a hit, winning implicit customers truthful wholly that they were moved from the waiting country to the eating room. However, it wasn't until 1996 that the institution gave them their now-iconic name, "Cheddar Bay Biscuits." The made-up "Cheddar Bay" was invented to dependable similar a cozy seaside determination and to amended acceptable Red Lobster's nautical taxable and seafood offerings.

Baskets of aureate  biscuits connected  a table, with a blurred lighthouse coating  successful  the background

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11. Gunther, the Central Perk manager connected Friends, became instantly recognizable for his signature bright, bleached blond hair, but...that look wasn't planned astatine all. James Michael Tyler, who was a real-life barista erstwhile helium got the part, primitively joined the amusement arsenic a inheritance extra, meant to marque the java store consciousness much realistic. The nighttime earlier his archetypal time of filming, helium fto a person who was grooming to beryllium a hairstylist signifier bleaching his hair. The effect turned his hairsbreadth astir white, and helium showed up to acceptable that mode without expecting it to substance since helium was conscionable going to beryllium successful the background.

Two men are talking astatine  a java  store  counter. One is wearing a bluish  garment  and tie, the different   a casual jacket. Background shows customers seated

NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

Producers ended up liking the look and decided to support it arsenic portion of the character. They besides decided to marque Gunther a recurring character, which meant that Tyler past had to support the look by bleaching his hairsbreadth play passim the show's 10-season run. According to him, the archetypal happening helium did the time aft taping the past occurrence was dye his hairsbreadth dark.

Person successful  a retro-themed mounting  wearing an orangish  garment  and a necktie  featuring a celebrated  painting. Bright decor successful  the inheritance  suggests a lively atmosphere

NBC / NBCUniversal via Getty Images

12. And lastly, the opening credits of Sex and the City became instantly classical for showing Carrie Bradshaw walking done New York successful a pinkish apical and achromatic tutu earlier getting splashed by a passing bus. That outfit helped acceptable the code for the amusement and who Carrie was. But during production, the squad wasn't afloat settled connected that look, truthful they filmed an alternate version of the series with a wholly antithetic wardrobe.

Person successful  a tutu stands connected  a engaged  metropolis  street. Others locomotion  past. Text reads "created by darren star."

HBO

In that unused version, Carrie wears a knee-length bluish formal alternatively of the tutu. The country itself besides played retired differently, with Carrie tripping connected the thoroughfare alternatively than being splashed by the autobus featuring her file ad. Darren Star aboriginal explained that the alternate mentation was meant arsenic a motion to The Dick Van Dyke Show. However, some the show's costume designer, Patricia Field, and Sarah Jessica Parker pushed for the tutu version. Starr has since said, "It was specified a superb prime because, successful a way, Carrie's dancing done her beingness successful New York."

Person successful  a fitted formal  walks connected  a metropolis  thoroughfare  with a bag, gesturing toward a passing person. Busy municipality  mounting  with buses and people

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